Illinois reparations commission releases lengthy report of state's 'harms' against Black citizens
New report details state of reparations for Black Americans
The Black Roots Alliance just released its latest reparations report. Gabby Green, the director of policy engagement and research, joined Good Day Chicago to share the findings.
An Illinois state commission that is looking to implement reparations for Black residents released a report laying out what it called the state's history of harms against them on Friday.
"Confronting the truth of our state’s history is a necessary first step toward building a more equitable future," said Illinois African Descent-Citizens Reparations Commission (ADCRC) Chair Marvin Slaughter, Jr.
Slaughter said, "By grounding our work in historical evidence and the lived experiences of those who have experienced harm, we are laying the foundation for informed and meaningful reparative action."
The ADCRC released what it described as its "first comprehensive, evidence-based" report examining "how slavery and its vestiges produce historical harms and continue to generate inequities for Black Illinoisans."
The report, titled "Taking Account: A History of Racial Harm & Injustice Against Black Illinoisans," was created by the commission to trace "racial injustice from colonial enslavement and early statehood through Reconstruction, Jim Crow, urban renewal, and mass incarceration."
The 294-page report lays out "nine broad categories of harm" and "presents a thorough assessment of how slavery and its vestiges enabled the racial harms and injustices Black Illinoisans experienced historically and continue to experience today.
"Drawing on scholarly analyses, historical archives, government data, and community perspectives, this report describes not only individual harms, but the accumulated impact of harm over generations. Ultimately, it provides an evidence-based accounting of Black life in Illinois that will help to inform the critical debate over how to repair, redress, and ameliorate these lasting harms," the report states.
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The commission will develop legislative recommendations to "promote restoration and reparative justice."
The ADCRC is "a State of Illinois-appointed commission committed to advancing equity and opportunity for African Americans with lineage to the American Slave Trade."
Illinois could follow several states and local municipalities looking to implement reparations to some degree. Many have proposed compensation to rectify historical harms to Blacks. Some of these programs have faced legal challenges considering that they have race-based implications. For instance, a San Francisco resident is claiming that the city's Reparations Fund is dividing the city.
Evanston, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, was the first to pay Black residents in reparations to cover housing expenses. The program issues $25,000 direct cash payments to Black residents and descendants of Black residents who lived in Evanston between 1919 and 1969.
Evanston's reparations program is also facing a lawsuit.
Elsewhere, Cincinnati is reportedly going to discuss a reparations plan this week. The Ohio city is expected to discuss the "Cincinnati Real Property Reparations Program," a proposal cosponsored by Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney and Councilman Scotty Johnson.
The program would offer assistance to "low-to-moderate income residents" and "any individual or family member of an individual who was prevented from buying a home due to discriminatory practices," the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.